Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas and Republican presidential candidate, addressed the Cornell and wider Ithaca community Tuesday at a presentation titled “In God We Trust: The Role of Faith in Politics,” sponsored by the Cornell University Republicans.

Huckabee, whose presentation was followed by a brief question and answer session, spoke to a packed house in Bailey Hall about a wide array of political issues, including same-sex marriage, abortion, the war in Iraq and the role of the government but kept his tone congenial and humorous.

“Someone told me Cornell is just a little left of center, so the Q-and-A session will be interesting,” he said, jokingly.

Though the mood in the hall was light, a handful of students stood across the way from Bailey Hall, holding signs and protesting Huckabee’s presentation. None of the protesters would comment.

Huckabee said he disliked being pigeonholed as the “God guy” during his political campaign, but he liked to be honest about his religious beliefs since they shaped his ideals and personality. He said he would rather be known for his views on education — he supports strong arts and music programs in all schools — and gun control, a topic that came up in the question and answer session.

When a Cornell student asked for Huckabee’s opinion on a proposed Cornell University policy that would allow students to carry concealed weapons, he said he was a “big supporter of the Second Amendment” but understood the concerns about weapons on a campus.

Huckabee did, however, encourage religious diversity in politics and praised Congressman Pete Stark (D-Calif.) for being so open about his atheism. He said most politicians are not honest with the public or even themselves about how their religious beliefs permeate their decisions.

“What we need [politicians] to say is ‘My faith is very important to me, let me tell you how it affects me, and if that’s problematic for you, well, then don’t vote for me,’” he said. “My faith does affect me. It makes me have a deep concern about people.’”

Huckabee devoted a good portion of his time to issues such as poverty and hunger. He said in an ideal society, a fictitious place he labeled “Hucktown,” citizens would guide themselves with their religious and moral beliefs and would take responsibility for their actions. This, he said, would be more productive than Democrats and Republicans debating about  government involvement in their lives.

“Our government was not created to be a moral vacuum,” he said. “The best and most effective government is when we self govern.”

At a press conference after his presentation, Huckabee said he had not been approached to be a vice presidential candidate, even by presidential candidate Senator John McCain, to whom he conceded the Republican ballot. He did endorse McCain, however, and said his former opponent was  more than capable of running the country.

“McCain is a very compassionate person,” Huckabee said. “He has a passion for the environment that I don’t see in a lot of other Republicans, and I admire him for that.”

Ira Pesserilo, a local attorney who attended Huckabee’s speech, said though the protestors were “a bit of an annoyance” he was impressed with the former presidential candidate and said Huckabee raised some interesting points.

“It was unbelievable. I’m more than a little heartbroken looking at [who] we didn’t get for president,” he said. “He showed how well-thought out he was.”

Despite the typically liberal atmosphere of Ithaca, Huckabee’s speech was surprisingly well received, said Cornell senior Mazdak Asgary, who attended the event.

“It went great,” he said. “Everyone was very respectful, and we heard some interesting views.”

Huckabee, who left Ithaca yesterday, said he chose to come to the typically left-leaning area because he was interested to hear what people thought, regardless of whether he agreed with them or not.

“I find [the atmosphere] stimulating,” he said. “I don’t want to go to audiences who agree with everything I say; I’m not going to get anything out of that. … I find that I get traction when people do challenge me because I have to ask myself, ‘Are my beliefs solid enough that I can defend them against the people who disagree with me?’”